First goal of season a shot in the arm for Wild's Pierre-Marc Bouchard

St. Paul Pioneer Press | Nov 6

Pierre-Marc Bouchard has gotten assists here and there, but he had to wait until the Wild's 12th game before he finally scored his first goal.

Bouchard had a goal and two assists in Minnesota's 5-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night, giving him one goal and seven assists for eight points through Saturday's 2-1 home victory over the St. Louis Blues.

"It always feels good to get the first one," he said after the team's morning skate Saturday. "It was a good win for us, and personally, I'll try to build on that game."

A first-round draft pick in 2002 who missed all but one game two seasons ago with post-concussion symptoms, Bouchard did not start playing a year ago until Dec. 1.

He holds the team record for 50 assists in a season and is not far off that pace through 13 games.

Currently lined up with Matt Cullen and Devin Setoguchi, Bouchard had two assists in the season opener but just three more over the next 10 games. Things seemed to come together against the Canucks.

"It's all about confidence," he said. "Last game we were able, as a line, to create stuff and make good plays out there."